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The Great Gatsby premiered this past weekend, and so in honor of all the glitz, glamour and oh-so fashionable wardrobes that came with it, we present our favorite vintage Crane & Co. ads from one of our favorite eras. We think Daisy and Jay would approve.

We like to think this is the kind of note Daisy would have written to her cousin, Nick, enticing him to return to New York for an evening (or evenings) of Champagne and boisterous banter into the wee hours.Continue reading →

Moms come in all shapes and sizes. So do their personalities. We’ve identified some of our favorite moms — past and present — and matched them with the Crane stationery we thought one might find in their writing desk. Be it traditional, classic, elegant or sophisticated (or perhaps all of the above), we like to think we have correspondence that fits every mom’s distinct style.

For the lady who likens herself to…

June
She bakes. She knows how to fold a fitted sheet. She always has a tissue handy. For the Mom who fancies tradition and treats, a classic motif a-la our hydrangea is certain to make her swoon.

Jackie
She makes hostessing look effortless. Her social calendar is always full. You routinely raid her closet. For the Mom who fancies the classics and Capri, an elegant flourish is sets just the right tone.

Diana
She’s as at ease in diamonds as she is in riding pants. However her children are her favorite accessory. For the Mom who fancies the finer things as well as the little things, a gold monogram fit for a princess.

Angelina
She is effortlessly stunning. Though making time for her family is always her most beautiful quality. For the Mom who fancies sophisticated style and summers on the Siene, a monogram with oversized flourish in a hue most magnificent will earn a kiss.

J. Saunders likes organization. He listens to Podcasts on the subject. He has “medium term goals.” And he was just hired as Crane Stationery’s Director of Operations. The Maine native is in the process of moving from Kennebunk, Maine — where he managed William Arthur’s amending and boxed product manufacturing — to North Adams, Massachusetts, where he will be in charge of all manufacturing. Which, of course, will require a lot of doing what he enjoys: organizing.

Do a little good for the environment (Earth Day is April 22nd) and your karma by donating your old stationery somewhere special. We asked our friends on Facebook for suggestions on where to donate, here are their stellar ideas:

Crane & Co. has been advising enthusiasts of classic correspondence for more than a century. In our archives is proof of this: petite, elegantly covered books boasting topics such as “Visiting Cards for Men” and “Country House Stationery.”

Some advice — the importance of thank you notes, the use of “honour of your presence” for a church wedding to name a couple — has proved timeless. Other advice, however — addressing wives who are also medical doctors, a brides’s monogram using a hyphenated last name — has been added, updated and, sometimes, scrapped altogether.

While we value tradition, we also embrace the kind of change that still feels correct and special. And so when online invitation purveyor Paperless Post approached us to partner on a collection of wedding stationery suites, we made sure that every design was a perfect blend of the online invitation company’s fresh, modern aesthetic and our timeless, classic elegance.

Our Crane Concierge receives quite a number of queries from correspondents about what type style they should use for their personalized stationery, wedding invitations, etc. And while there are certainly guidelines for pairing the proper type style to the occasion, one’s personality should also help dictate how text will appear on paper.

Below is a sampling of type styles and the type (no pun intended) of person who may fancy such a style. For those of you who would like to use a similar style on our paper, we have also provided the codes for the lettering that best matches each one.

Our Crane Concierge spends her days offering etiquette advice of the epistolary variety to brides, businesses and everyday correspondents alike. We thought we’d share a handful of recent queries. If you have a question for our Concierge, email her at concierge@crane.com.

NICKNAMES

How do I include a nickname with my name on stationery? I am known by the nickname in my community, i.e. Susan Hindle (Su) George. Would this be acceptable? Or is there a better way?If your correspondence will be mostly personal and not professional, I would suggest using your nickname (Su George), as this is the name your friends and family know you by. If, however, you will be using it for professional stationery as well, I would suggest using your given name and — for your personal notes — signing with your nickname.

In a previous life, Dan Morgan worked in a photo lab. Now, the Donaldson, PA, native is the one taking the pictures — his website shows off his stellar work — and uses his keen eye for detail during his day job as a typesetter in our stationery factory.

How did you end up at Crane?I was working at a photo lab at the time and actually saw the job in a Valpack ad for a typesetter position.

What exactly does a typesetter do?A typesetter’s job is to make a customer’s stationery design work for what they want — even when they may not know it’s what they want. For example, we have requests sometimes to “please use your discretion and make it look good.” I love those types of jobs, because I can use my creativity and tweak the layout or sizes to make it look great. I write those job numbers down and check after a few weeks to see if they’ve returned the proof and what comments they had about the design I came up with.

Do you have a favorite or memorable design?
Well, every job is special for somebody — we all want to make our mark — but I did enjoy working on an order that featured an engraved Redskins helmet logo, because I’m a football fan.

Since you’re looking at type styles all day, do you find yourself critiquing them when you’re not working?[Laughs.] I do. When I’m driving, I’ll notice the fonts on highway signs.

Have a question for Dan? Email our Crane Concierge at concierge@crane.com.

Amour. Amor. Love. XOXO. No matter how you express it, there’s only one feeling that gets its own holiday.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we thought we would celebrate the holiday with the most heart by showing some love to our enthusiasts (that would be you!). Inspired by all things red and amorous, we created a Pinterest board just in time for Valentine’s Day.

We’d like you to do the same, and one lucky Pinner will receive a box of their favorite stationery from our Catalog collection. Here’s how to enter: